Inuyasha: A Modern Fairytale
by RisuBento
Summary: College student Kagome finds a mysterious book which leads her to clues that Demons did perhaps at one time exist- but where are they now? Hiding in plain sight? Buried in ruins from times past? Adventure awaits.


Inuyashsa: A Modern Fairytale 

By RisuBento

Disclaimer: I unfortunately don't own this awesome Anime or Manga. Maybe some of the unknown characters I throw in at some point.

Why aren't there any Demons in the present time? Were they wiped out like the dinosaurs? College student Kagome finds a mysterious book which leads her to clues that Demons did perhaps at one time exist- but where are they now? Hiding in plain sight? Buried in ruins from times past? Adventure awaits.

* * *

She closed her eyes, removing her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"College is going to be the death of me…" She stated to no one. She leaned back in her chair and stretched her arms high above her head. 'Huh.' She glanced around her room. Stuffed animals and flowery pink blankets neatly folded reminded her many times of a childhood from not so long ago. Her mother had asked her many times if she had wanted to get rid of all of it but Kagome always said no. Probably because there was a huge part of her that never wanted to let go of being a carefree teenager. She was stubborn. She didn't want to grow up! She didn't want to do adult things; pay bills or pay an arm and a leg to go to college for a degree she wasn't sure she wanted to do anymore.

Archaeology had always fascinated her. But then, so did being a doctor, a vet, a teacher; even a circus performer at one point. Then there was meteorology, marine biology (dolphins!) and so much more. In the end she sort of fell into Archaeology because she wanted to learn the history of EVERYTHING. At first is it was exciting- learning about the far beyond past lives of long gone people. What they used to do for jobs, their food choices, even the clothing they wore.

But all she feels now is boredom! Like the spark she had in the beginning never truly grew into a flame. She felt like she settled and she dreaded every class and every lecture after lecture after boring lecture… She still had yet to go on an actual archaeological dig to uncover actual history!

"Kagome? Are you still up?" Came a voice, followed by a knock.

"Yes, mama." She drawled from beneath her hands.

The door clicked open and in came a middle-aged woman with kind eyes and the beginnings of gray hair on her otherwise pitch black hair. She was holding a tray of snacks.

"Just thought I'd come and s-" Kagome jumped up at the sound of her stomach screaming and launched herself at the tray of onigiri and fruit. She shoved a whole rice ball in her mouth and moaned with delicious pleasure.

"…to see if you're hungry from all of your studying. I thought right!" Mama Higurashi- or just mama- was a bright-eyed woman with a kind smile and a comforting aura about her. She was called Mama by just about everyone. She preferred it that way because she felt that needed to help others no matter what the situation-just like any mother would for her children.

"How's it going? You have a big test tomorrow right? Shouldn't you be getting some good sleep?" Almost as if she couldn't help herself she began to pick up discarded clothing on the floor and straightening every thing misplaced.

Kagome-in the middle of trying to swallow half a rice ball coughed and gulped down her orange juice. "Yes. This test will determine whether I'm certified to go out into the field or not. So basically if I bomb this test I'll be back at square one." Kagome set the tray down and flopped backwards onto her bed throwing her arms over her face in dismay.

"Oh, honey. You'll be just fine. You've been studying so hard so I think you'll be okay. But if you don't pass then you can always stay here and work at the shrine with your grandpa making and selling charms. I know he would love to have an eager apprentice."

'Great…exactly what I want…stay at home forever and be a shrine girl wannabe. Mama says that so lightly…'

Morning came too soon and Kagome could barely keep her breakfast down. She was certain that she had some rabid vampire butterflies annihilating her guts. This was her future career at stake! She should have asked Hojou if she could have borrowed his notes. He was so smart and everything came as a breeze to him. But then again every time she was with him he would give her weird medicinal stuff from his father's pharmacy. Hojou had intended to pursue a pharmaceutical career to someday take over his father's natural remedy business, but much to his parents' dismay, he had a love for old history as well and chose an archaeology path. Now Kagome had a pantry full of weird dried stuff that she questioned everyday with a wrinkled nose if anything was even edible. He was a really nice guy…he just doesn't know when to stop.

"Kagome! Wait up!" Speak of the devil. Kagome turned, catching her hair from the wind and saw Hojou riding up quick on his bike. He slowed to a stop and hopped off to walk next to her.

"So this is it, huh? Are you ready? I hear the next dig site, if we pass, is NW of Tokyo in a village called Higashishirakawa. It's sort of in the country." He was walking casually next to her, the wind shifting his honey coloured hair slightly, his bike wheels clicking.

"What did they find out there?" She had briefly heard where it was- the towns name was a mouthful- but they hadn't mentioned what they'd uncovered. She was hoping it was a burial site, as morbid as that sounded. She so wanted to see some artifacts and bones!

"Not sure. They haven't released much information other than that a structure was found." Hojou tripped slightly on some unleveled pavement causing Kagome to snort. He blushed and smiled timidly before readjusting his bike and walking forward. It was moments like these Kagome liked about Hojou. He was super smart and usually all together but tripping like that made him seem more boyish and even prone to normal klutziness. He was cute… and she thought she'd felt something akin to a crush for a long while when they had first became friends but she found that it had shifted more into a friendship, brother sister sort of feeling for her. She enjoyed his company- especially when he had some well-written notes for a test she was studying for. 'Well that sounded selfish…' she mentally noted that she wasn't using him for his brain. Sort of. Whatever.

Kagome frowned. 'So they found a structure? Meaning a building or shrine of some sort. Maybe it had been buried by a mudslide in ancient times?'

"Ugh! This is going to be the hardest test of my life!" She cried.

"Don't worry, Kagome. Oh! That reminds me." Hojou reached into his jacket pocket and Kagome had to summon with all her might to not roll her eyes and he pulled out what looked like—

"—gum?" Kagome held out her hand and he placed a neatly wrapped piece of gum in her palm.

"A piece of mint gum before a test always seems to calm me down." He stated as a matter of fact with a serious face and a perfect finger pointed into the air. He looked down and saw Kagome not moving and staring at the wrapped piece. "Is something wrong Kagome? Or don't you like mint gum? I think I have some fruit flavored gum—" He began fishing around in his jacket pocket for more gum and Kagome waved her hand for him to stop.

"No no it's okay, Hojou-kun. I like mint gum it's just…this is the first normal thing you've given me since I've known you—oh! n-n-n-ot that the other things weren't normal- I mean they aren't but-" 'Oh god…I'm shoving my foot further and further into my mouth.

Hojou surprisingly laughed. "I admit I do give you some uncommon curatives but they do work and even though they're great for curing common ailments, they do tend to have side effects of bad flatulence-"

The university's bell chimed and Kagome thanked every god possible for saving her from this awkwardom. "Anyways! Thanks for this Hojou! We've got a test to take!" She laughed manically and mentally slapped herself for sounding crazy. She waved and took off pretending she didn't hear Hojou calling at her to wait up.

Kagome was mentally screaming. 'This is it! I'm finished! I'm destined to be a shrine girl forever! Or I'll just end up selling cigarettes at men's clubs wearing a maid outfit. Or flipping burgers at Wacdonald's for minimum wage!' She chomped furiously on her gum-it had lost it's flavor about a half hour ago. Now it tasted like she was chewing on gummy Styrofoam. She slumped her head onto her test paper in defeat. She thought she was ready for this! She'd studied so hard…and the test questions were mocking her. She grasped her hair in her hands and pulled hard. She could hear pencils and pens tapping out answers left and right from all the other students. They were flying through the test like it was nothing! Oh yeah…she was done for. She sat up and noticed that Hojou wasn't next to her anymore.

'Oh he better not have…' Hojou was all the way up at the front of the class, turning in his test paper. He turned and gave her a bright smile while scratching the back of his head nervously. 'Why that little…" Kagome snapped the pencil in her hand in half, which brought everyone's attention to her. She gave a nervous laugh, waving it off before becoming stoic and burying her face back into the test paper in front of her.

Downtown Tokyo:

Meanwhile in one of the tallest buildings in the city a reserved man sat behind a solid mahogany desk, his chair turned to look out over the city below.

"Sir…I have new information." Said a voice. The body belonging to that voice appeared from the shadows. The man in the chair made no movement. The shadowed being took that as a sign to continue.

"They've found it. They've uncovered the palace." The man in the chair twitched. He stood elegantly and buttoned his suit.

"Sir?"

"So they've found it. You know what to do." The man turned and regarded the shadow with a stern gaze. The shadow took in his master. The man's eyes stared him down with that deep, amber-gold colour. You could read nothing about this man.

He was terrifying.

"Go. Now." The man spoke deeply. The shadow bowed and dissipated into the dark and was gone. The man turned towards the window overlooking the twinkling city.

"So. It has begun." He smirked lightly before dropping it quickly back into seriousness.

"Rin…"

* * *

Kagome plopped down on her seat pillow at the dining room table and laid her forehead on her placemat.

"Hey ma! I think Kagome's dead." Shouted Souta, Kagome's not so little brother. Kagome could hear him shoveling food into his mouth like lightning. She sat up and grimaced. He had gotten taller as of lately. He was almost as tall as her, if not taller. She had measured in a while. He'd lost most of his baby fat and was sort of turning into a good looking kid.

"Eat slower, you doofus. You're making a mess and you're going to choke." As if on cue he coughed and rice flew from his mouth, landing on Kagome and sticking to her glasses. "Ewwww! Mom! Souta's spitting food all over!"

"Mom! Kagome's a mother hen!" Souta mimicked in a squeaky voice. Kagome jumped up and wrapped an arm around his neck and proceeded to give him a noogie.

"Hey you little whipper snappers can stop that any that racket any time now! I've got some new dried foods for you to try." Kagome's grandpa came waddling into the dining area with a large canvas sack, knocking them both over. Kagome and Souta both stopped struggling and gave each other a look before sporting the same grimace.

"What did you get this time, grandpa? More dried magical tree bark from an ancient sacred tree?" Souta asked, while resuming his rice shoveling.

"No no no. THIS my dear grandchildren, is a delicacy passed down through generations." He unwrapped the sack and revealed a gnarled hunk of whatever. And it STUNK. Kagome reflexively pinched her nose.

"What the heck is that?!"

"Dung! Collected from the ancient demon mushroom Esedaigoku!" He beamed proudly.

"Poop?! You're eating poop! Mom! Grandpa's lost it!" Kagome shrieked when the "stuff" was shoved towards her.

Mama came around the corner from the kitchen and tsked. "Grandpa. You shouldn't have that at the table. Wait until no one is here!" She shook her head and shooed the old man out from the dining room. She then returned to the table with more dishes and sat down next to Souta across from Kagome.

"How did your test go by the way sweetie? Are you able to go out into the field now?" She lightly slapped Souta on the back when he started choking on his rice again.

Reality flew in again, crashing into Kagome's head. 'Oh great. I forgot all about that. Thanks to grandpa and his disgusting eating habits. I'd forgotten that I was done for with life itself. I guess I'll have to apply at wacdonald's tomorrow.

"I don't know, mama. Tomorrow morning hopefully they'll send out emails with the score results." She stopped cleaning the rice off her glasses and slumped forward onto the table again. "I'm doomed."

"You know Kagome—" Souta spoke between bites. "—Our school's soccer team is needing a manager. You could do that."

"Oh Souta." Mama chortled softly. "I don't think Kagome would want to stoop that low to look after you and your friends. You guys get rather smelly."

Kagome snorted and Souta opened his mouth to protest.

* * *

Kagome was sitting in her hot bath, enjoying it as much as her anxiety would let her. She barely made it through high school and it was a pure miracle that she got into university. She glanced at the picture frames around the door. Her father had been an archaeologist. No one ever talked about him. Her mother wasn't afraid to talk about him but when she did she got this misty glow about her eyes and would stop talking, going into daydream stance. She didn't cry about it but she would start gushing and blushing at what a wonderful man he was. Kagome was 5 and Souta was just a baby when he was killed on a dig in Egypt. He and his team were uncovering the tomb of some ancient ruler when the cavern collapsed killing everyone. She didn't really remember him. Only his smile and how much he loved mama. So in the end maybe that's probably what drew her to pursuing archaeology. Mama was a little apprehensive about it first, but she came around after seeing Kagome's determination. Hojou had beamed all day about how well he'd done on the test. Kagome sank further into her bath, blowing raspberries underwater.

Higashishirakawa… She'd briefly heard about the small town years ago when they were given assignments to look up surrounding towns and their histories. A small town, known for their cabbage farms. Beautfiul landscapes. It was hard to believe that anything extraordinary was found in a less than extraordinary town. Excitement bubbled in her stomach. Hopefully soon she'd be out being a super duper professional excavator, uncovering the ancients of past! A beep next to her pulled her from her daydream. Her phone lit up and she saw that it was an email.

'Maybe it's the test results!' She quickly dried her hands and grabbed her phone opening her email. She leaned as far as she could away from the tub so she wouldn't drop her phone into the water. That is something she REALLY didn't need right now. She opened the email and hesitated. 'Anonymous? Pretty sure the school wouldn't send something under anonymous.' She scrolled down and frowned.

DON'T GO. YOU'LL ONLY FIND DEATH.

"Whaaaat…" She voiced quietly. She scrolled down some more hoping there was more to that weird message. Nothing. Not even an automatic signature.

'Ok so two options. One being that this was sent to the wrong person. And two it's from an online gaming fandom group trying to recruit new gamers.' The second option made more sense because she'd gotten some emails before and they always had vague messages like the one she got this time; to try and draw then to click on the attached link. But normally there would be a link to their fan forum or the actually MMORPG website. She scrolled back up and hit the reply button and typed a message.

"Who is this?" She said out loud as she tapped on her phone. She hit send and waited. A moment later her phone beeped again. She clicked on the return message.

EMAIL COULD NOT BE SENT. EMAIL ACCOUNT DOES NOT EXIST.

"What the heck? Why would someone send a message and then delete their account right away?" She shook her head and tossed her phone onto the bathrobe she had laid out for later. She wasn't going to let a stupid email message bother her. She already had too much going on through her brain to let it bother her. But that didn't stop the shiver and goosebumps take over her body suddenly making her turn on the hot water again to make the bath warmer.

* * *

Kagome's alarm blared for the sixth time that morning. She threw the covers off of her face and slapped it quiet. Settling back into the bed's warmth with a tired sigh, she cracked an eye open and was met with blinding sunlight. She hadn't slept a wink. Every time her phone beeped all night with notifications she would launch herself from bed and would open her email. But alas, if was either a drunk text from an over partying friend or emails that didn't matter. Another beep sounded and she jumped headfirst from where she was, falling onto the floor grabbing her phone from where she'd thrown it last night. 'It's from Hojou.' Her heart skipped a moment. Opening it her eyes got big.

"Scores are posted at school! The dean just emailed me! Hurry up Kagome!"

'Of course the dean messaged him. He was a top student and was all buddy buddy with the higher ups at school. Wait! They're posted!' Scrambling up and grabbing whatever she could from her closet and she ran from the bedroom pulling a sock on.

"Kagome! Breakfast is already!" Came mama's voice. Kagome was hopping down the stairs two at a time tying her hair up into a ponytail.

"Sorry mom! Hojou just messaged me and said the test results were posted! I gotta go and meet him right now!" She yanked a jacket on and was almost out the door before mama came around the corner and stuck a piece of toast in her mouth.

"Invited your friend Hojou-kun over sometime soon. He's such a nice boy." Kagome glowered at her before closing the door. She quick grabbed her bike and took off. Her mom was always trying really hard to get her to date Hojou and no matter how many times she told her that Hojou was just a friend, her mother would give her a sweet smile and would chuckle; like she knew something Kagome didn't. Kind of creeped her out actually. When she reached the top of the shrine steps she didn't even think twice and kept going. She'd only done this once before and had broken her arm before she'd even reached the bottom. She didn't care now. She had to go!

"Kagome you made it! That's gotta be a record." Hojou smiled and waved at her. True. Normally it took her a half an hour on bike to get to school. This time it was about 10 minutes. Not that there weren't casualties. She'd made it to the bottom of the shrine steps on her bike only to fall and scrape her knee. Then she knocked an older lady over with her groceries, shouting her apologies. Pretty sure she'd caused an accident too when she went through a red light in traffic. But she made it!

"Hojou! Where are they posted?" She huffed trying to get some air into her lungs. She hopped off her bike and locked it onto a bike rack. She didn't wait for an answer and started for the college building.

"Dean Shizuki said they were posted outside the auditorium." He was practically running to keep up with her. Kagome booked it and headed towards said location. When it came in sight there was a massive crowd assembled around some bulletin boards.

"Excuse me! Coming through—hey! Watch it!" She'd dove right into the mass and was squeezing through the tangle of arms and backpacks finally breaking through to the boards. 'Okay…okay…of course Houjou has the number one slot… now me.' She searched through at the names. There were only 12 names on the board. She was nervous as hell. 'Takazawa…Honda….Uzumaki…Higur…a…SHI!'

She froze and her eyes got huge. Shrieking and suddenly letting her body do whatever it wanted she did a weird floppy dance before turning around and jumping hoping to catch sight of Hojou.

"Hojou! I made it! You made it! I got last place but who gives a crap!?" Every time she jumped she caught quick glances of Hojou's face. He was looking for her too and finally caught sight of her bouncing and gave a questioning thumb up or down. She raised both thumbs and jumped as high as she could while laughing. This was it. She made it!

* * *

"Kagura!" A man barked. A woman appeared through a door and closed it behind her.

"You know, there are nicer ways to greet someone. Like "Hello, Good Morning here's a donut I bought just for you with a skinny no whip latte." The woman named Kagura chided, crossing her arms and resting her body weight onto one leg.

"If I wanted to greet you nicely I would tell you that today wouldn't be the day that I kill you. Not with a donut." His voice was stern. Kagura scoffed at the man. He was wearing the latest up to date fashionable suit. His hair was cut short sculpting his chiseled face. What Kagura wouldn't give to feel those cheekbones on her lips… What really got her were his eyes. They were slanted and fierce. The amber colour brought out something hot from deep within her.

"Kagura, I don't have time for you to undress me with your eyes. We have more pressing matters at hand!" The man barked. Kagura jumped and composed herself.

"Undressing you with my…Please Sesshoumaru. There are millions of other looking men out there for me ogle at." She switched her weight to her other leg. Internally she was slapping herself for getting caught staring.

"Then do that on your own time." He seethed, slightly. "I need you to go to Higashishirakawa. Some petulant people have broken through the barrier and discovered IT."

That got her attention. "You don't mean—they found it? How the hell did they get through that barrier?"

"The barrier has grown weak as of late. I've had Jaken keeping up with it but he doesn't possess the kind of power I need to keep it going. It seems that something—or someone has tampered with it somehow." Sesshoumaru rubbed the bridge of his nose.

Kagura walked over and put her hands on the desk. "I thought everything had been sealed. Wasn't the miko who put it up supposed to have rivaled in power to Midoriko? We've been living without any sort of powers for…for who even knows how long now! This is your fault you know!" She pointed at him, nodding smugly.

Sesshoumaru looked at her with a pointed stare. "Do you presume to BLAME this Sesshoumaru?" He grounded out.

There was a silence when Kagura suddenly snorted. She held back a muffled laugh before bursting out into a laughter that brought tears to her eyes. She clutched her stomach as she laughed because it pained her. Sesshoumaru stood and stared at her waiting for to stop.

"Oh…oh my! I haven't laughed like that for so long!" She began laughing again.

"What in God's name are you laughing at, woman?!" He barked. He was getting pissed.

Kagura calmed down and wiped her eyes, careful not to smear her makeup. When her laughter finally died into a smirk she spoke. "You spoke in the third person. I haven't heard you talk like that since the first time I saw you." She composed herself and sat down in a leather chair facing the desk, throwing a leg over the other.

Sesshoumaru didn't look pleased at all. His eye twitched and he continued to glower at her before continuing.

"You will go to that stupid town and find out who uncovered the palace and infiltrated the barrier."

"What!? Why do I have to go? Make that wretched frog, Jaken, give you info. He's already there anyways. Besides—I just got a manicure." She pouted, while holding her hands out in front of her—inspecting her red nails; a diamond placed carefully on each tip.

Sesshoumaru continued to stare at her. 'How dare she disobey and talk back to me.' "I can take your life from you at any moment, Kagura. I have possession of your heart." Kagura gasped and stood up ready to protest. "You WILL go. Do as I say!" He yelled in finality.

Kagura huffed and marched to the door. Before leaving she turned and stuck her tongue out at him before slamming the door behind her.

He could hear her heels clicking as she stomped away. He suddenly had a rare grin on his face.

"Insufferable woman."

* * *

Kagome opened her eyes and smiled. She then proceeded to do a happy dance in her bed. So what she got the last spot on the list—she at least made it ON the list! She beat out 24 other people from fellow classes in that department. Hojou of COURSE had to point out once again- albeit innocently- how he'd gotten the best score. Bah! Who cares! She gets to go on a real dig. She could feel that spark in her finally become a flame. She hopped out of bed and grabbed her robe before skipping down the hall.

Entering the kitchen, filled with the scent of breakfast filling every nook and cranny, she was bombarded by her family shouting congratulations and popping mini confetti bombs. "We're so proud of you, Kagome!" Mama said, clapping her hands and pulling Kagome into a tight hug. Souta and her grandpa enveloped her into a hug before both sitting down for breakfast.

"Pancakes and eggs and sausage for my wonderful daughter." Mama chimed placing a full plate in front of her. Kagome inhaled deeply and her stomach melted.

"Mom! Why can't you make this everyday?" Souta said, shoving a large bite of pancake into his mouth.

"Because Souta, dear. This is for special occasions. Kagome just launched herself into a big stepping-stone in her life. And besides, you can always make it for me sometime." Mama had a twinkle in her eye as she hummed.

"Where's the fun in that?" Souta chided, glumly.

Kagome rolled her eyes and dug in. This was where mama would go in the whole "I was in 22 hours of hard labor with you, son" speech. She continued to eat her special breakfast, taking in the happy conversations and friendly bickering surrounding her.

She couldn't be happier.

* * *

A couple days later was the day she got to leave. She met up with Hojou at the train station and a 2 hour ride on the bullet train she was right where she wanted to be. That is…until she found out that she'd actually be LIVING in the small village until they were finished. She was assigned to live with a resident too. She supposed it was nice of the people living in that town to open their homes to complete strangers. She just hoped there was running water.

The sun was shining brightly as she got the train and settled in. Hojou sat down across from her, beaming.

"I'm so excited, Kagome! I wonder how long we're going to be out there…Who's family did you get boarded with? What about…" Hojou trailed on and on and Kagome was listening…but not really. He liked to talk. A LOT.

She watched the scenery fly by. It still hadn't really hit her that this was happening. It almost seemed too surreal. The group of 12 she was apart of was all packed into a small section of a train car. She didn't really know any of them, besides Hojou. Well there was one guy that was way too gorgeous to be in this line of work. Seriously. He should be an international model for like—speedos. She felt herself flush and she giggled. She glanced at Hojou and he was still talking about this and that. She glanced around and found the god-like man she was thinking about. He had short brown hair, cropped close to his head. His skin was a much darker tan-not natural for a normal Japanese person. It was almost as if he'd grown up on an island in the middle of the ocean. His eyes were a surprisingly pale blue making her wonder if he was biracial.

As if he could sense someone staring at him, god-like man looked up from his cellphone and caught her staring. He gave her a smirk and for a split second she could have sworn he had an enlarged canine. Kagome flushed an even deeper red and quickly tried to find something-ANYTHING- to focus on.

"Hojou!" She all but shrieked. The said man in front of her stopped his talking and looked at her in surprise.

"Yes, Kagome?"

"Umm ugh… tell me about the medicinal properties of the…um dried dung of the ancient youkai mushroom that I told you about earlier…" She blurted. She smacked herself in the face and grabbed a magazine on the seat next to her, opening it and hiding herself behind it.

"Oh, yes! Now there's an interesting specimen. From what my father has told me, it's for curing indigestion…" Hojou was almost TOO excited to talk about poop.

Kagome was just so glad to have some distraction. She slowly glanced up over the top of the magazine and thankfully god-man was talking to the person next to him. She let out her breath and fanned herself.

"Kagome, you don't look that well. I think I have something that will help." Hojou started digging in his bag and Kagome stood up and put her hand on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Hojou-kun. I just need to use the restroom." Hojou smiled and nodded before telling her to hurry back so he can tell her the rest about mushroom poop. She forced a smile before heading down the train car aisle. She splashed some water from the bathroom sink on her face and sat down on the covered toilet seat. She frowned. She could have sworn she'd never see Mr. God-Man in her classes before. But then again she always had her face stuck in book studying her brains out, to even notice if she'd brushed her hair or not that day. She shook her head and stood up reaching for the door latch when she was suddenly jerked off her feet and thrown against the bathroom wall. Her head cracked against the wall, sending stars exploding across her vision.

She landed on the floor and groaned holding her head. Everything was tingling, from her head to her finger and toe tips. 'Holy shit…what happened?' She could make out a piercing shrill-metal on metal. Everything was flying out of the cabinets, spraying her with debris. Suddenly, everything stopped. She could make out the muffled screams of people and heavy footfalls outside of the bathroom door. She grimaced, putting a hand to her head. A searing pain shot through her temple and she pulled her hand back, seeing blood.

"Shit…" She was seeing double. Probably not a good thing. A screech sounded and a voice spoke over the intercom, causing Kagome to cringe at the pain it sent through her head.

"Uh…ladies and gentlemen! We apologize for this…sudden inconvenience. We have encountered a strange delay on the track. We are announcing a mandatory evacuation, please line up and the stewards will usher you out one at a time…I repeat…"

Kagome grabbed the side of the sink. 'A "strange" delay?' She pulled herself up with shaky arms. She felt like she was going to be sick when suddenly the door to the bathroom was thrown open with a snap. Kagome squinted and tan arms and blue eyes looking at her.

"Mr. Model…" She muttered before pitching forward, losing her balance. Mr. Model caught her lifted her up to carry her.

"Come on, Kagome. I'll take you out of here." Kagome looked up at him in surprise.

"Who are you?" She slurred, seeing double again. She saw him smirk again and a larger than normal canine peaked out over his bottom lip. At least she was sure that's what it was. She reached up to touch it and felt herself slipping out of consciousness.

* * *

Kagome was now sporting a hefty bruise on her forehead, with a matching migraine to boot. She was lying in a small makeshift tent set up beside the train tracks with a bag of ice settled on her head. Apparently there was a team of doctors on the train bound for a small town further north of where they were stuck.

"Just have to take it easy, Higurashi-san. You'll be much better after a good rest." Said the young doctor with kind eyes.

"Thank you, Dr. Yoshikawa." She nodded and settled back onto the cot. He smiled and gave her a slight bow before turning and tending to an elderly man with a swollen wrist.

"Kagome! Are you okay?! They wouldn't let me into to see you, especially when I said I could help out with some of the things my father gave to me." Hojou came running in fretting and flailing his arms around like a nut.

"Hojou!" She raised her voice, regretting it when her head throbbed painfully. "I'm okay. Really."

That seemed to calm him down slightly at hearing her say that. He sat on a small wooden crate next to her. "I'm so sorry, Kagome. I was trying to get to the bathroom where you were, but I couldn't get through the throngs of people freaking out. And when I finally got to the bathroom it was a mess and I couldn't find you."

Kagome grabbed his hand and shook her head. "It's not your fault Hojou-kun. I'm going to be okay. Someone came in and carried me out of the train. Speaking of which…who was that guy anyways? He's apart of our class going to the dig…"

"Who?" Hojou questioned, stroking her hand with his thumb.

"A guy. He came in and grabbed me after…after all this. He had brown hair, blue eyes…tall?" Kagome squinted trying to remember details.

"Sounds like you were seeing things." Hojou scoffed, almost sounding jealous. "I haven't seen anyone who looks like that around here."

"So what happened, Hojou? Why did the train stop so suddenly?"

"Oh that. It's actually really weird. I'll have to show it to you. I can't even describe it without sounding nuts. Are you okay to stand?" Hojou stood and held out a hand. She nodded and took hold of the said hand and lifted herself slowly. She was too curious to mention that her head was spinning. Hojou pulled her up and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, guiding her out of the tent. They gradually walked through the grassy ditch the tent was in towards the front of the train. Kagome looked around and saw families and kids sitting, talking and fanning themselves in the intense summer heat. She wondered where they were all headed. Family reunions? A vacation out of the city to anywhere and nowhere in particular? There was some business men and women talking quickly into their phones, sounding upset that their business plans were put on hold.

"Look." Hojou said, nodding towards something ahead of them.

Kagome looked and couldn't believe what she was seeing. A giant mass of what looked like vines covered in thorns had taken over the tracks. Like in, out, and under the tracks; lifting them right off the ground into a twisted pile of metal strips. 'It looks like the massive thorn bushes in Sleeping Beauty…' Kagome approached closer to the mass. The thorns were longer than her forearm and from the looks of it, poisonous. From each tip there was a green ooze dripping falling to the ground and sizzling when it made contact.

"What the heck…how did this even happen?" She wondered aloud. Hojou came around and shifted her slightly back, so she wouldn't get any closer.

"Surprisingly there's a scientist on board the train. He spoke with me earlier saying he's never seen anything like this before in his entire career. No one's been able to figure out how far it goes along the tracks. Probably a couple miles." He leaned back and she did the same to look up at the top. It was at least 3 stories tall. Kagome shivered.

"It's starting to get cold. The sun's going to go down soon. What're we supposed to do?"

Hojou shook his head, shrugging. "From what I've heard through the mass of people, the conductor has gotten ahold of the train station we were going to pass through a couple hours from here and are sending out some school buses to anyone who wants to keep going to wherever they were going. Otherwise the train is heading back to Tokyo in the morning." Kagome nodded and figured that her teacher was going to shuffle them onto the buses as soon as they got there. Her head was starting to really ache and she was getting drowsy. She informed Hojou and he went into protector mode once again, throwing an arm over her shoulder and leading her back to the tent for some sleep.

* * *

Kagura sported a massive stink face. Mud. There was MUD everywhere! Certainly this was not a place for her fresh off the line Jimmy Choo stilettos. 'People in this damn town…' A horse trotted by her, being led by its owner, and suddenly stopped and Kagura watched in horror as it lifted its tail and began to poop.

"Ugh! Wretched animal!" She shrieked, as it all almost splattered her shoes. She scurried away, wiping invisible germs from her fur coat.

'How dare Sesshoumaru insist that I of all people come here to this piece of crap town and do god only knows what to stop these humans from digging any further on his preciously stupid piece of land!?' She stepped back and her heel sunk into mud and she let out a shriek. "If he wants to stop the impending resurfacing of his stupid castle, then he can save it on his own!"

She took her phone from her clutch purse and dialed his number. 'He won't answer. That prick!' She seethed as it only continued to ring and ring. She huffed and called again. This time it didn't even ring and went right to voicemail. She snapped her phone shut and threw it back into her purse. She marched back to her driver and the fancy town car and opened the door to get in.

"Ma'am. Lord Sesshoumaru has ordered me to stop you from leaving." He stated, clutching the top of the door when she tried to shut it.

"That stupid man." She muttered to herself. "You. You WILL take me back to Tokyo or so help me, I'll kill you and drive myself back!"

The driver pushed his black sunglasses back up his nose and smirked. "I serve no one but Lord Sesshoumaru and thus I take orders from him only. I was ordered to kill YOU in anyway that I saw fit if you did not comply."

Kagura slumped in defeat. 'It's true…that bastard youkai CAN kill me at any time.' She put a hand to her chest and squeezed. There was no beating…no heart to be found. 'He has my heart. As part of the agreement to let me live and to hide the entire youkai race—he holds my heart…really in more ways that one.'

"All right fine. Where am I supposed to be staying?" She said climbing back out of the car.

"There's an inn across the street. I hear they have running water. Rare in these parts." The tall driver stated chuckling at her predicament. She turned to where he was nodding and she made a face. She flipped her head back around and looked at the driver up and down. 'I wonder what kind of youkai he is. Rather handsome if I do say so myself.'

"Ma'am. I have to be getting back to my lord." He spoke suddenly, almost as if he knew she was checking him out.

"Fine. Just get my bags and bring them—" She flipped her purse over her shoulder and noticed that her bags were already out and away from the car. Right. He worked ONLY for his "Lord". She stuck her tongue out at him and grabbed the handles of the rolling suitcases and marched away.

* * *

Kagome lurched awake. Her head was throbbing. Glancing across from her, she giggled quietly. Hojou was scrunched up in the most awkward position on the train seats, snoring slightly. He was going to be sore in the morning. They had all been ushered back onto the train by their professor, stating that it was too chilly to be sleeping outside. She and Hojou took up their old seats and attempted to sleep. Her other classmates were all crammed in their seats, looking scrunched up and awkward as well.

So strange. She'd heard of tropical vines and plants growing at quick rates but never like this. This was something entirely different. She FELT something coming from those vines. Something dark and it made her chest heavy. She needed some air just thinking about it.

Wrapping a blanket tighter around herself, she climbed carefully over sleeping bodies in the isles, finally making it to the doors. She stepped out and inhaled deeply. It was almost too calm. She missed the bright lights and the noise and the smells of the city. There were only crickets and the sound of the long grass being blown in the wind. She couldn't see Mt. Fuji from here and that her feel even lonelier. She slowly made her way to the indestructible pile of thorns. She stopped right before it and felt that heavy feeling in her chest again. 'No natural plant could have done this. There's just no way. _Someone_ did this. But how? I have no idea how someone could have even begun to manipulate a plant like that. Who knows though…so many growth hormones are added to food and plants these days.' She shook her head and turned to go back to the train when something caught her eye.

Out, far in the sky there was a light floating. It was faint but it was almost a halo. She thought it could be a searchlight or even an aurora borealis but searchlights don't project a halo and it wasn't cold enough for the borealis' to be seen. Kagome continued to look at it and figured it was roughly 10-15 miles away. It was shining faintly but had such a colorful brilliance to it that she almost felt elated—at peace. She closed her eyes and felt another headache coming on. Back to bed.

* * *

Kagura sprayed down every inch of her room at the inn with air freshener. It could be worse. 'No wait—it couldn't.' She sat down on the tatami floor and sighed. 'You'd think they could spruce the place up a bit. They wonder why they never have tourists come through and want to stay here.' She'd gotten word earlier that the train sabotage had been a success and it was heading back in the morning. Splendid. At least something was going right. Her phone trilled next to her and she flipped it open.

"Yes?" She said boringly. The voice on the other end made her eyes grow and she smirked.

"Well well, Kouga-san. Long time no hear. To what do I owe this call?" She lay back onto the futon spread out on the floor and waited. She hadn't heard from this man in decades. They'd all gone their separate ways when the pact was made and their powers sealed. She could almost see the wolfish grin he was sporting when he started to talk.

"Kagura…you sound exactly the same. Only less bitchy." Kagura was ready to snarl at him when he continued. "I can't talk long. Sesshoumaru told me that you were in the village where the digging started. I've got some news for you."

"Oh? Can I leave now? Is that stupid man finally seeing sense that sending me here was silly to begin with?" She sat up and stretched her back, feeling good after it cracked and popped a few times.

"Heh. No. This actually has nothing to do with Sesshoumaru. Well it does. Sort of. But I found her!" He stated. Kagura rolled her eyes and almost flipped the phone shut on him.

"Look Kouga. I don't want to hear about your newest female conquest. I'm sure she's just brilliant and totally the one this time."

"No nononoo….there will never be 'the one'. I knew her once but then she got away. I meant that I found HER. The priestess that's part of the prophecy."Kouga spoke trying to get his meaning across.

Kagura jumped up. Now THAT caught her attention. "You mean it? Just like the one that that old bat spoke about eons ago? Onyx hair and blue—"

"-Blue eyes. Electric blue eyes. I was on the train with her and I could feel her untapped power just radiating off of her. She has no idea what she is." He spoke like he was describing an ancient relic worth billions of dollars.

Kagura let out a shaky sigh. So this was it. After waiting for what seemed like forever, their chance to finally put an end to Naraku was in their grasp. Poor girl had no idea what was in store for her. What her destiny was. She could finally get her heart back. For good. To feel it beating in her chest again was something she couldn't find words for.

"I'm almost to your location. It'll be a few hours before we all make it there. I'm going to call Sesshoumaru and tell him what's going on. He'll probably change his mind about stopping the dig when he hears about this." Kouga didn't wait for her to say anything and he hung up. Kagura lay back down again and let her phone fall down onto the pillow under head. She was almost free. Free to fly with clouds and feel the wind once again rushing through her hair and into her lungs. She felt something tickling her foot and she absently glanced down and came face to face with a cockroach just chilling on her toes. She screamed and kicked her foot, flinging the insect across the room and ran as fast as her feet would carry her.

* * *

Kagome yawned and stretched her arms high above her head.

"Good morning child. Care for some breakfast and fresh milk?" An old voice beckoned from across the room. Kagome looked over and smiled giving a nod.

Kaede…a sweet old woman who happened to be Kagome's foster host while she was here. She lived in a small one-bedroom home. At first she was worried that she was going to invade on Kaede's space but a futon had already been made up next to her own. Kagome was quickly feeling like it was a home.

She got up and straightened her hair and went over to where Kaede was ladling some miso into a bowl. A pair of chopsticks and a cup of steaming rice were sitting neatly on the table in front of her.

"Thank you, Kaede-sama." She smiled and sat down. Breaking apart her chopsticks she stated, "Itadakimasu!" before digging in.

"Think nothing of it child. It's nice to have someone here to keep this old woman company again." Kaede smiled, sitting across from her.

Kagome spooned some soup in her mouth followed by some rice. She glanced up and observed her housemother. She'd seen many a year. Kagome was sure every crease and wrinkle upon her skin had a story to be told. She wore an eye patch over one eye and Kagome felt it would be rude to ask why it was there.

"A very bad man did this to my eye." Kaede spoke suddenly, causing Kagome to flinch out an apology for staring. 'How did she know I was thinking about that?'

"How horrible. Was he every caught? This man." Kagome wondered.

"Yes…and no. He was detained before escaping. He was captured once again and has been incarcerated, in so many words, for decades." Kaeded explained. The old woman started on her miso, sipping quickly as it was hot.

"Well I'm glad he's away and can no longer hurt anyone." Kagome said, setting down her rice cup and moving to her soup again.

Kaeded nodded and continued watching Kagome eat her breakfast with a knowing eye. 'This child has no idea the dangers that she will be facing. But…she is our only hope to defeat Naraku once and for all. It is just like the prophecy had stated. A young woman with onyx hair and blue eyes shall be Naraku's undoing and will bring peace to the land once again. I can sense the power buried deep within this young lady. It is up to her to tap into that power. There is nothing I can do to help her until she finds her true self. Her true purpose.'

"Thank you for the meal, Kaede-sama. I'm so grateful that you opened your home to me, a stranger. I hope we can become good friends." Kagome set her finished dishes down and smiled.

"It is no problem, my dear. It is wonderful to have someone as smart and lovely as you, Kagome, around to brighten up this old shack."

Kagome laughed and waved off the compliments. "If there is anything I can do for you while I'm staying here just let me know. Any time." She stood and went to grab her dishes and yelped when a spark shocked her fingers when she touched her rice bowl.

"Oh my….I have no idea what would have caused that." She laughed a little and took her dishes to the kitchen.

"It is not necessary my dear. I shall do the dishes. Off you go. Don't want to be late on your first day now." Kaede watched as Kagome smiled and left her dishes in the sink. Her smile dropped. That spark… she wandered into the kitchen and picked up the bowl. Looking it over she stopped when she saw a charred spot and the starting of a crack. 'Just as I had thought…her powers are beginning to manifest. That was no innocent spark either.' Kaede set the bowl down.

"Be safe, child." She muttered, sadly, watching Kagome leave and head towards the village center.

* * *

Kagome was currently unburying what looked like steps leading up to the mountain. One wondered what kind of structure this was. It was definitely ancient.

Hojou was her digging partner and he was working diligently next to her. He had sweat beading up and running down his brow. Kagome nudged him and handed him a towel and bottled water.

"Thank you Kagome. I suppose we should have prepared ourselves better for working in this heat and sun." He said, drinking down the water before dousing the towel with the last bit of liquid and draping it over his face.

"It almost feels like we're not getting anywhere." Kagome sighed, setting her brush and tools down and sitting next to him.

Kagome looked around at her surroundings. The sun was definitely beating down pretty harshly but the overgrown trees were giving them both some partial shade. She could see the village further down from in the distance. It was a taxing hike up here as the trails were uneven and wound around everywhere. They'd been out here for almost 6 hours and they'd made some progress. Kagome was impatient! She wanted whatever this was to miraculously unveil itself so she could see what it was already!

"Higurashi! Hojou!" Kagome and Hojou both turned and saw their sensei heading towards them from further up, careful to avoid any unearthed relics.

"Sensei! How are things going up there?" Kagome asked, standing up and brushing dust from her jeans.

"It's going rather well. Some of the students are starting to mention feeling faint. This sun is rather unforgiving and I didn't plan for it to be so brutal. I've decided to call it a day until later when it gets a little cooler. That way we can work with the spotlights until bedtime. I don't need any students fainting on me." He chuckled and took out a handkerchief and wiped the sweat from his balding scalp.

Kagome's spirit sunk. She turned to Hojou and he shrugged, standing up. They both gathered their tools and followed their professor.

"Man…" Just when she was getting super excited. The first day was already cut short. But their sensei was probably right. No sense in getting heatstroke over something she had the whole semester to work on.

She started after Hojou when an eerie feeling caught her by surprise. Her chest felt like it was squeezing inside. She whirled around and scanned the scattered tree line. 'I swear something's there.' She had never felt something like that before.

She heard birds chirping and the wind rustling through the leaves on the trees…but she couldn't see anything or—anyone. She heard Hojou call her name and she turned to follow, glancing back briefly as she did.

* * *

A figure hopped down silently from high up in a tree and watched Kagome's retreating form. They flipped out a cellphone and dialed.

"She almost caught sight of me. Her powers are definitely awakening if she could sense an inkling of me. They're all heading back to the village now. At least until sunset and then they're heading back up. Now's our chance to see if she can sense anything tonight." He listened to the person on the other end of the line.

"You want me to get 'him'? He doesn't want anything to do with us let alone Sesshoumaru." He sighed. He could feel sweat starting to bead up on his forehead. "Look, he's not going to listen to me, Miroku. You and Sango are the only people he'll acknowledge."

Miroku grumbled on the other end. "Kouga…I don't even know where he is. You're much better at tracking people down. Although, the last I heard he was in South Korea doing Kami only knows what."

"Get him back home. Sesshoumaru pretty much owns all of us. You know how he is if we don't follow his ridiculous rules." Kouga began heading towards the trails.

"Fine. Let me get a hold of Sango. I'll see what I can do, Kouga. But I'm not making any promises!" Miroku stated as a matter of fact.

"K, good. I'll talk to you later." Kouga snapped his phone shut and leaped into long strides back to town.

* * *

Kagome's spirits were definitely in the gutter. A strong storm—not in the forecast—had unleashed it's fury and swallowed their chances of ever getting back up there tonight. Not only that but what they unburied was at high risk of getting covered by mudslides. She sat back in her chair and looked at her cheerfully plastered classmates. She hadn't touched her drink. She was pouting and being ridiculous, she knew that. Hojou had dragged her along to the town's only pub, with hopes in cheering her up.

She was trying. The beer WAS ice cold and it felt good to not be in the sun, but she wanted to be out there, uncovering history. She sighed. 'Oh well, tomorrow is a new day.'

"So, Kagome," said a half-lidded Makoto across from her. The girl's words were slurring slightly. "How long have you and Hojou been dating, because, I mean, you're always together and shit…"

Kagome instantly flamed and looked up at a matching flustered Hojou. He spluttered into his beer and Kagome shook her head.

"No! nononono….Hojou and I aren't together. We're just really good friends." She finally forced out. Pretty sure she was not only going to die not from the sun's heat but from her own blushing! Hojou wanted so badly to be with Kagome. They had talked about it before, but in the end after a couple of awkward dates that ended in some clumsy hugs and even a semi-sloppy kiss, she told him they were better off friends.

"Yeah but—you guys are super cute together!" Makoto exclaimed and her classmates cheered, clinking their glasses together.

'Oh kami…just strike me down now.' She felt Hojou chuckling nervously next to her.

"I have to use the rest room." Kagome whispered to him quickly and got up and left—practically running from the room. She made it to the hallway before running straight into something hard.

"Oh! I'm sorry! I didn't see where I was going." She apologized, throwing a couple bows in.

"It's no problem, Kagome." A deep voice sang out. Kagome looked up.

"Mr. Model!" She slapped her hand over her face, which contorted into pained grimace. She could NOT believe she just said that. 'He's going to think I'm super weird.'

He laughed. A great big laugh, tipping his head back and everything. It almost reminded her of a wolf tipping its head back and howling.

"So…Mr. Model huh? I know, I know…it's the eyes right? They are pretty unique for a Japanese man. But so are yours. I'm Kouga by the way." He smiled a toothy grin. Kagome, still flustered beyond belief, gave him a small nod.

"I'm Kagome—"

"—Higurashi. I know. We're in the same class. Too bad we haven't talked until now." He said, finishing her sentence.

"It's weird," She said, cocking her head to the side in curiosity, "I don't think I've ever seen you in my class before. But you seem so familiar at the same time." Kagome watched him as she said that. He glanced at her, his eyes shifting to hers so fast. His demeanor changed entirely and Kagome could feel that tightening in her chest again.

"That's strange. I don't think we've met before." He spoke in a serious tone. Kagome felt silly, her escape to the bathroom all but forgotten.

"I'm sorry, maybe it's déjà vu or something." She stated. "I'm sorry, I'm going to get going home. I'll have to be up early in the morning for the dig." She paused before giving him a quick goodbye before rushing out the door into the thunderstorm.

Blue eyes and a rapidly beating heart watched her leave.

Kagome popped open her umbrella and continued into the monsoon. She'd made it half way across the parking lot when a sharp pain sliced its way through her chest. She gasped, almost falling to her knees.

'What is this feeling? It's so heavy.' She clutched her chest and took some deep breaths. When she finally felt good enough to keep walking, she regained her bearings and kept on going. When she did, something on the mountainside caught her eye. A small purplish haze was manifesting itself over the dig site. It was faint but she could definitely see it. She looked up and through the rain she saw a light halo over the village.

'Just like the one I saw the other night! Maybe someone forgot to turn off the spotlights.' She shrugged it off and was about to continue to Kaede's when it felt as if her body was being pulled towards the mountainside somehow.

'It's dangerous to go out gallivanting at night, Kagome… Especially in a storm!' She tried to tell herself it wasn't smart. Her brain was telling her not go…something deep inside of her was telling her otherwise.

"Ugh." She chided. "I'll just go check it out quick and then come back to Kaede's right after."

She thanked her mother profusely for packing her raincoat, otherwise she surely would be sopping wet. She trudged her way across the main street and began up the worn hiking trails. The trees were thankfully catching most of the rain so she slipped her hood off and closed her umbrella. It was at least a mile to the site.

'What the heck am I doing?' She suddenly fell after her foot snagged on a gnarled tree root and she landed not gracefully into some squishy earth. Or mud. She got up and looked down at herself. Yep. It was mud. And she was covered from head to toe. 'Awesome.' She groaned and got to her feet again and turned to see how much further she had to go until she got to where she was going. The purple haze was getting brighter now that she was closer. She noticed a humming sound despite the rain smacking trees. It was vibrating in her senses—softly, but enough to make her feel it. A twig snapped behind her and she spun around.

"What the hell are you doing up here? Are you crazy?!" Kouga, sopping wet, was climbing up the path behind her.

"What the hell are YOU following me for?" She suddenly felt uncomfortable.

"I saw you heading towards town then veer off into the woods. The professor is NOT going to like that you're up here after hours. And in this storm too! Are you stupid? What if you got caught in a mudslide?" He growled at her finally reaching her spot. The stupid comment made her hackles rise.

"Now you listen up, bucko! I don't know you and you don't know me! So I would REALLY appreciate it if you didn't follow me!" Kagome yelled and turned continuing on her way quicker than before.

"Hey! I'm not some creep you know! You and I are here for the same reasons." He followed and reached out and grabbed her arm. She whirled around at the grab and smacked him. His head snapped to the left and he looked at her, stunned. Kagome felt empowered but her hand was screaming at her in pain. 'Holy shit is he made of steel?!"

"I'm sorry that was a reaction." She took a step back. "I saw a light up here and I went to go and check it out thinking someone left a spotlight on." That caught his attention.

"A light?" He said looking at her intently.

"Yeah. It's further up where my group was digging earlier. If it's nothing important then I'll go right back down but…"

"But? I don't see a light." He said to where she was pointing.

"You don't see it? It's right up there." She said pointing again. She looked and saw it drifting slightly. He looked again and turned back looking confused. Kagome was sure this guy was playing dumb.

"Ok…I'm gonna go." She finalized, turning away.

"This light you say, is it different from a normal light?" He asked while following her, much to her chagrin.

"I guess so. It's almost like a thin haze and…" She stepped up the path and paused.

"And? Kagome?" He questioned, stopping directly behind her. His closeness sent goose bumps exploding over her body.

"…and I feel like it's beckoning me. Crazy right?" She chuckled because pretty sure she sounded nuts.

Kouga stared at the back of her head intently. 'You have no idea how crazy this ISN'T, Kagome,' is what he wanted to say. She really does have the power to sense this. He'd been going stir crazy all day because of the resonance coming from the mountainside. He may not have his youkai powers like before but the ability to sense an unnatural aura was still there.

"Let's just hurry up and find out. We're both going to get sick from being out here any longer." He said, bypassing her and taking the lead.

"Hey! Wait!" She shouted, a little irritated that he was even here at all. She had to take small leaps to keep up with him. When they finally broke through the tree line into the familiar setting of the dig site, Kouga stopped and looked back at her.

"Where's it at?" He said, wiping his wet hair from his forehead. Kagome looked and her vision focused on one spot.

"Over there." She pointed and moved to make her way to where she meant. Kouga followed. The rain was starting to come down in buckets now.

Kagome felt the tightening in her chest deepen even more. She found the source of the light in a small hole that had been dug out by some of her classmates earlier. It was almost like a purple iridescent smoke coming out the end of a pipe. It was unaffected by the rain coming down, which was odd.

"Right here." Kagome stood at the edge of the hole looking down. Kouga moved to stand next to her. He looked where she was looking but wasn't seeing anything. He shrugged at her. 'He doesn't see it?" Kagome was flabbergasted.

"Look." She leaned her arm out and swirled her hand around in the smoke. She suddenly had a thought. Maybe this was some kind of weird volcanic smoke escaping from the earth…she probably shouldn't be messing with this stuff. The mist whirled and dissipated when she touched it. It made her fingertips tingle.

"Kagome, I think we need to go back. There's more rain coming in. It's not safe up here." Kouga said shaking his head.

"But it's right here! Reach out!" She made a grab for his hand and her foot slipped and sunk into the softened ground. She fell into the person-sized hole but when she hit the ground, it crumbled and she fell through.

"Kagome!" Kouga screamed, watching her disappear before he had any chance of grabbing her. Thunder cracked suddenly overhead. Rain poured hard and mud began to slip down the hole.

"Shit shit shit shit…Kagome!" He yelled getting down and digging with his hands to try and stop the mud from sliding in. He had no idea how far this hole went down. 'At this rate she's gonna be buried! If the gods are playing a pissing game, I'll kill them myself!' He cursed. He was no match against the mud. It was starting to slide from further up the slope. If he didn't get Kagome out of there she'd be dead in moments. Without thinking, he dove headfirst into the hole.

* * *

Hey der ho der. I'm sorry if this is a bit meh. I'm still trying to get back into writing and it's a slow process for me I guess lol. Oh well. I hope I can continue to get better and I hope you all tag along on my brain's chaotic journey. I would love some reviews, points, tips. Constructive criticism is great but flat out flamers can keep to themselves. I hope to have the next chapter up within the next couple of weeks.

Bai bai!


End file.
